Mandisa thomas biography

Thomas's upbringing was in a nonreligious, single-parent household, but she describes her grandmother as "staunchly religious".
Mandisa Lateefah Thomas is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers Inc. She has spoken at secular conferences and events, and has promoted the group's agenda in media outlets.
Secular activist and atheist Mandisa Lateefah Thomas, née Dixon, was born in New York City.

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Fear of a Black Atheist by Mandisa Thomas

Sunday, September 16th, 1-2:30pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church, Great Hall
1000 Blanton Avenue - Richmond, VA 23221
Please register here to reserve your free seat(s)

According to Pew research, Black still makes up one of the highest religious demographics. This presents major challenges to secular representation and perception. Mandisa Thomas - President and Founder of Black Nonbelievers - will discuss why religion has such an effect on the Black community, what Black Nonbelievers is doing as an organization, and what the secular community can do to support and work with them.

Bio:

Mandisa Thomas, a native of New York City, is the founder and President of Black Nonbelievers. Although never formally indoctrinated into belief, Mandisa was heavily exposed to Christianity, Black Nationalism, and Islam. As a child she loved reading, and enjoyed various tales of Gods from different cultures, including Greek and Ghanaian. “Through reading these stories and being taught about other cultures at an early age, I quickly

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By Andrew J. Rausch

(Listen to the interview audio hereon our YouTube channel)

Mandisa Thomas grew up in the early 1980s in New York City, in the home of a non-religious single parent. However, she says her grandmother was a devout Christian. As a result, Thomas sometimes attended church, even singing in the choir. She realized she was an atheist at a young age and has long been interested in the historical ties between Christianity and the black community. She would come to realize that Christianity had been ingrained into the black identity in America by force. Although she came to these realizations at a relatively young age, she would quickly discover that many members of the black community saw such suggestions and observations a form of betrayal. This was a verboten topic for most black people in America.

Hoping to expand the conversation about the effects religion has had on the black identity, she would eventually establish Black Nonbelievers, Inc. in Atlanta in 2011. Thomas serves as the non-profit organization’s president. In subsequent years, Blac

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Mandisa Thomas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mandisa Thomas
Thomas in 2017
Born	Jamaica, Queens, New York
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Queens College, City University of New York
Occupation	activist
Years active	2011–present

Mandisa Lateefah Thomas is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers Inc. She has spoken at secular conferences and events, and has promoted the group's agenda in media outlets.

Early life and background

Thomas's upbringing was in a nonreligious, single-parent household, but she describes her grandmother as "staunchly religious". At the age of twenty-one, Thomas moved with her husband to Atlanta, where cultural factors made it difficult to lead a secular life. This experience led her to found Black Nonbelievers.

She considers religion, and Christianity in particular, to have been ingrained into the African-American identity by force.

Activism

Thomas spoke at the 2013 National Convention of American Atheists. That same year she organized the Blackout Secular Rally in New York, the United States' first ou